Not the Final Goodbye
by athenianflower
Summary: What happens when Zuko finds Katara in the Fire Nation, powerless and in need of his help? Will this be their final goodbye? Read to find out! Zutara one-shot


**My first fanfiction story... like, EVER. Yay! Please read and tell me what'cha think! I won't ban flames, but if you're gonna flame me, please also offer constructed critism so I can learn and grow as a writer. Thanks!**

**Ooh! and *ha hum* Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender**

**So without further ado:**

Katara walked down the gravel road that led to the village where she was heading. Since the others in the group knew nothing about simple cuisine, it always fell on Katara to pick up the food and supplies when they were needed.

It was sweltering out, especially at midday, as Fire Nation summers were known to be, and Katara wanted nothing more than to go for a quick swim, or to have a little rain, which was rare. In all their time hiding out in the Fire Nation, it had only rained twice, both unexpected and short-lived. It made Katara feel homesick for the South Pole and its on-going precipitation and predictable cold, but not by much. She actually didn't mind the changing seasons and their differing weather that only happened in the Earth and Fire Nations. She could even put up with the boiling summers in turn for being able to wear something other than her fur-lined parka every time she wanted to go outside.

Something rustled in the bushes next to where Katara was walking. She reacted quickly, taking up a defensive pose. She waited, listening closely for any more sounds. After a few minutes of nothing else happening, she blamed it on an animal, and continued on her way to the village, although she was much more cautious of her surroundings.

Before Katara had barely started walking again, though, a man burst out of one of the bushes in front of her, stumbling drunkenly onto the path. She heard as two more joined them in the road behind her. Katara realized that she was blocked in by them, which only worsened her fears of their intentions.

"Well," the man in front of her said, acting as if he'd only just noticed she was there. "A pretty young thing, alone in the woods at night, with no one around; it's a lucky thing you weren't found by someone else," he grinned evilly.

"Ya," agreed another man with piercings all over himself, standing behind Katara to block any exits on the path. "Lucky,"

They started closing in on Katara. She recoiled as she smelled the alcohol that rolled off their breaths. One of the men started to reach out towards her. Katara sucked in a large breath as his hand drew closer and let out a loud high-pitched scream. The men covered their ears to block out the dreadful noise, giving Katara the opportunity to escape.

Katara ran as fast as she could, not wanting to count on the fact that the men might be too drunk to follow her, in case she was wrong. She only ran harder when she spied the edge of the village in the distance, knowing she'd have a better chance losing her pursuers in a crowd.

But to her disappointment, there turned out not to be many people in the part of town she was at, and the marketplace where she was headed was on the opposite side of the village. Katara was already starting to feel the effects of her spirited run, her legs starting to feel like rubber and her breath coming out in shallow pants. Even worse, as she looked behind her, Katara saw the three men hot on her trail, striking down the idea of them being too drunk to walk straight.

Katara struggled to make her way farther into the village, farther from her pursuers, going at an aggravatingly slow pace. She turned a corner, only to find herself facing a dead-ended alleyway.

She started to head back, but before she could even turn around she was thrown onto the ground.

She heard as the men from before came closer, blocking the only way out of the ally. She didn't even think she would even be able to stand in her current state, much less fight three full-grown men. Katara knew it was hopeless to even try.

They drew closer, chuckling menacingly.

"You're not escaping this time, little girl," one spat. He started to lean down towards Katara, who was powerless to stop him.

Katara waited for her ungracious fate, just wanting her misery to end, when she heard one of the men yell in pain. Katara didn't dare look to see what had happened, although she was sorely tempted.

"Who's you?" one of the men slurred angrily, apparently at who had ever caused him pain.

The stranger didn't say anything back, but they must've done something threatening, or looked very intimidating, for the next sounds Katara heard were the sounds of three pairs of footsteps running as fast as they could away from that alley, tripping and bumping into several walls along the way.

Katara felt as someone, hopefully her savior, knelt down next to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her quietly.

Katara felt shivers go up her spine as she heard his voice, knowing who it belonged to. Oh, why did the spirits have to be so cruel? she asked herself. Why, out of all the people in the world, did it have to be him that saved her? She now knew exactly why the men had ran away so fast; she would've too, if she'd been able to.

"Can you stand?" he asked her, noticing her unchanged position on the ground.

Katara pushed her thoughts aside; her feelings of anger partially overtook by fear that he would recognize her and turn her in, or worse. She couldn't dwell on those thoughts now.

She tried standing, only to realize she couldn't feel her legs. She tried lifting herself off the ground with her arms, but she only fell back onto the dirt.

Katara knew she shouldn't panic, but she couldn't help as her breathing sped up at the realization that she wouldn't be able to get back to camp on her own.

"Here, let me help you," he said in a low raspy voice that sent didn't reassure Katara in the least bit, seeing that she wouldn't be able to get up on her own.

He held one of her arms and wrapped his hand around her waist as he helped pull her up from the ground, setting her on her own feet. Katara tried standing for a few moments, her legs wobbling perilously beneath her, before she fell again.

But instead of an impact, Katara felt herself being scooped up as she fell, knocking the wind out of her lungs and making her hands fly out in front of her, causing her to reach out and grab his neck.

Her suspicions were confirmed as she caught a glimpse of his amber eyes and his infamous scar that covered half of his face. She quickly averted her eyes downward, knowing he would automatically recognize their unmistakable blue hue, if he hadn't already identified her.

Zuko shifted, readjusting her so that she could hold onto his neck without choking him, half of which Katara was disappointed about; oh how she would love to be able to see that, to show the pain he had put her through when he had betrayed her. But since he had just practically saved her life, she figured it wouldn't be a very good way to repay him.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Zuko asked her softly.

"I'm fine," she responded quietly, trying to disguise her voice so that he wouldn't recognize it, although she wasn't sure how good of a job she did.

"Alright," Zuko continued, still speaking to her more gently than Katara thought he could. "Where should I take you? Do you live around here?"

"Um… Yes, I live on the other side of town," she answered, knowing there was no way she would ever let him near their campsite. She decided that it would be easier to play along as a local girl who got lost; at least she would get a free ride to where she was supposed to be, on the other side of town where the market was.

Katara pointed towards the direction of the marketplace, and Zuko began to head over there, still gripping her tightly in his arms to make sure she didn't fall. Strangely, Katara didn't mind; in fact, she might've even said she felt safe, something she hadn't felt in a long time, although she'd never admit that aloud. They were still enemies, after all.

They didn't talk as they walked, and although Katara had suspected Zuko not to be very talkative, she guessed he actually was trying not to frighten her any more after what she'd just been through. Either way, Katara was glad for his silence, because it made hiding her eyes a lot easier if she didn't have to look up to talk to him.

As they got closer to where they were headed, Katara felt the feeling start to return to her legs, and she wondered how much longer until she would be able to walk on her own. Not only that, though, but Katara also started to worry about what would happen as they got closer to where she'd said she was living; hopefully he would just drop her off when she was able to walk and leave her, but she knew that that had a very slim chance of actually happening. With her luck, he'd probably be like Long Feng and insist on escorting her home and formally meeting her parents, which would bring up some very awkward questions and most likely end with her being captured by him.

"Um," Katara started, using her fake voice again. She concentrated very hard on not being able to let Zuko see her eyes as he fixed his gaze on her. "I think I'm ready to walk now,"

Katara felt as Zuko stopped, setting her on her feet again slowly as to make sure she didn't fall. She almost leaped with joy when she noticed that she was able to stand on her own and that her legs felt normal again, but she doubted that she would even be able to do that still. Katara noted, a bit disappointedly, since it would stop her plans of running from him if she needed to, that he kept his hands on her waist and arm, though she knew it was probably just to make sure she didn't fall again.

She grinned a bit wider as she walked forward with hardly any wobbling, not once feeling like she was going to fall, though she wasn't sure how much of that was her own doing.

They continued walking along the cobblestone road that led to the market and the small neighborhood nestled by it.

"So," Zuko started as they began running out road. "Where exactly do you live?"

Katara mentally cursed her luck. "Oh well, it's around here somewhere. I'm sure I'll be able to find it on my own now." She cringed at how suspicious she sounded.

"You're barely walking," he reminded her. "I want to make sure you get home okay. And besides," he said in a way that gave Katara a sense of déjà vu of Long Feng's own words. "It would be rude of me not to escort you home after what you've just been through, and assure you parents that you're okay,"

_Well this is just great. Now what am I supposed to do?_

"By the way, I never did catch your name," Zuko inquired. Katara knew that she was treading into dangerous waters and that she should answer with care.

"My name," she repeated, thinking of a name that would be forgotten easily. "is… On Ji'" she decided, remembering that girl that Aang had mentioned meeting at that Fire Nation school.

"On Ji?" he repeated. "You know, _On Ji_, you actually remind me of someone."

Katara felt herself stiffen at this. "Oh?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yeah," he continued, feeling Katara's sudden tenseness. "But it couldn't be; she was a waterbender who'd never let anybody push her around- and she certainly let you know that," he said, a little ruefully.

Katara was a little curious about that last statement; she certainly felt like she still got pushed around- even in her own tribe in had been that way. Maybe he was talking about a different waterbender…..?

"And besides," he added after a moment. "She wasn't _nearly_ as pretty as you are."

Katara looked back at him, shocked. He thought she was pretty? She realized her mistake quickly as her eyes met his golden ones, and she shot her head back down, hoping he hadn't noticed.

But she didn't want to wait around to find out- she turned to her right sharply into an alley beside her and ran as fast as her still-exhausted legs would move, though it wasn't nearly as fast as before, and she knew her chances of out-running him weren't good.

Panting loudly and out of breath, Katara kept running, only wanting to get away. But she made her mistake when she looked back to see if he was following her and tripped, landing hard on the ground below.

She heard as footsteps, coming in her direction, became louder, until they were right next to her. Katara tried desperately to stand up, but, to her horror, found her legs had done a relapse in their refusal to work.

"You just will not give up, will you?" she heard his voice above ask, disbelief at her futile attempts.

"I… will… **_never_**… give up," she said between breaths. "Not like… you… would… understand," she muttered through clenched teeth.

"You'd be surprised," Zuko said in a low voice, so cold it made Katara instantly regret her previous remark. She knew first-hand that whatever Zuko might be, he was not a quitter on any level. She'd only wanted to hurt him, if even if was just with her words, to make him feel the pain she felt- she just hoped those words hadn't just cost her the slim chance she had of making out of this encounter unscathed.

Katara didn't respond, knowing she had already pushed her luck far enough as it was. Zuko noticed this; after all, he had seen on many occasions that this girl was not afraid to speak her mind about what she thought of him.

"What?" he spat, his anger rising unintentionally. "Nothing to say? Or are you just too afraid to?" he sneered at her.

Katara stayed still for just a moment longer before answering quietly, "I'm not afraid. You already know what I think of you."

It was true; Zuko had heard it from before while she had been speaking words of fury, which he had just unthinkingly done not a moment before. He cringed when he thought about how she must feel right now: alone in a strange place, with no energy left to move or escape, being taunted and ridiculed by someone she loathed.

Zuko looked back down at where she lay on the ground, guilt and pity for the girl who had once been strong, who had even stood up on her own to him, now powerless on the floor. He barely hesitated when he leaned down to scoop her up, gently taking a hold underneath her knees and behind her back. He felt as the wind rushed out of her in a surprised "oomph!", as it had before. It was a little bit cute, he thought.

Katara stared wide-eyed at Zuko, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck in fear he might drop her, though deep down she doubted he would. _What is he doing? _She wondered, partially in fear.

"W-w-what are y-you d-doing?" she stuttered, a little scared at what the answer would be. His grip on her tightened, and Katara hoped he could hear how fast her heart was beating.

Her eyes grew wider when he moved closer towards her, his mouth just next to her ear. Katara tried shrinking away from him, but Zuko held her in a steadfast grip between his solid arms and chiseled chest. Katara's breath hitched when he whispered in her ear.

"You're right," he murmured, the words, while usually one of Katara's favorites, doing nothing to soothe her fears. "I do already know what you think of me." Katara wondered what he was getting at.

"You think I'm a monster," he whispered, his lips grazing Katara's ear, causing her to give an involuntary shiver. "Spreading war and violence and is in my blood, you said so yourself,"

Katara felt a bit guilty when remembering the rant she had had in the cave when they stuck together, although it had seemed pretty justified to her at the time. But another part of her couldn't believe he had remembered that_. Wow_, she thought_, I must have hurt him worse than I'd thought._

"So why in the world," he continued. "Would you want to help _me_, your enemy, Prince of the nation you hate?"

Katara tried to look at him, wondering what it must've felt like to be pondering over such a simple, random act of kindness, but when she finally caught his gaze, she quickly looked down at the ground again.

"You just seemed so confused and hurt," she confessed to him quietly. "I don't know, I guess I just wanted to help you, maybe ease your pain. But I guess when the time came, I wasn't what you wanted." She told him, looking up to see his reaction.

His stone-like face turned softer at her words. "I'm sorry," he apologized to her quietly, not once breaking their locked gaze. Katara gave him a small smile.

"I'm sorry too," she whispered.

They stood there like that, staring into each other's eyes, each wondering where they would've been if he had joined them back in Ba Sing Se.

But it was too late for that now, and they both knew it. Zuko finally broke the connection, suddenly unsure that if he had the chance to do it all over, that he might've chosen a different path. _I guess some things are just not meant to be_, he decided sadly.

Finally, Zuko slowly unfurled Katara from his grip, setting her down softly on her feet as he had done before. When he saw that she would be able to stand on her own without trouble, he released his hold on her. Katara looked up at him, surprised confusion written on her features. He gave her a grim half-smile and nodded his head once, answering her unspoken question.

Katara, giddy in her newly returned freedom, spun on her heel and began her speedy getaway, but stopped just at the end of the alleyway. She stood there for a moment, as if lost in thought, and then turned herself back around, ran quickly back to where Zuko was standing. She stood on her tip-toes, barely standing at eye-level with him, cupped his face, and planted a kiss on his cheek, right below the scar.

Katara hurriedly ran back to the end of the alley, not stopping this time, turned the corner and disappeared. Zuko lightly touched the place where her lips had touched as he watched her speed away, back towards her friends. And although a part of him knew he should be revolted by the fact that a _peasant_ had dared kiss him on the cheek, another part of him wished silently for her to come back. But either way, he knew that he definitely did not want this to be their final goodbye.

And Katara, running along the same path she had used earlier, thoughts of supplies forgotten, knew that somehow, someday, that it wouldn't be.

~~Fin~~

**Congratulations! If you are reading this, you either skipped the entire story just for the author's notes, or you stuck it out like a champ & finished my very first fanfiction story! Yay you! So, as I mentioned before at the top, this is the time where you review & tell me how I'm doing as an author or how could improve. Both are wanted & appretiated! Thanyou! ^_^**


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